Tag Archives: #ThrowbackThursday

Throwback Thursday: Prince Wilhelm of Sweden

We’ve got a royal #ThrowbackThursday for you!

This black and white photo was taken on May 12, 1927. It shows Prince Wilhelm of Sweden (front left) during his visit to the Immanuel Deaconess Institute. Those pictured with him are other Swedish dignitaries, people connected with the institute, and detectives.

This photo is part of the Alegent Health Immanuel Medical Center collection on the Nebraska Memories archive. The rich and well documented history of Immanuel Medical Center in Omaha, Nebraska is shown in these images of the early buildings, people and artifacts.

Interested in Nebraska history? Check out this collection and more on the Nebraska Memories archive!

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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Throwback Thursday: Lincoln Statue

Happy #ThrowbackThursday from Nebraska Memories!

This week, we have an 8″x10″ glass plate negative of the bronze statue that sits outside of the Nebraska State Capitol building. Shown in profile, this statue of Abraham Lincoln stands on a granite pedestal and behind it, carved into the granite wall, is the Gettysburg Address.

This statue was dedicated in a ceremony on September 12, 1912 and predates the current capitol building. The statue is located on the west side of the building.

This photo is part of the Townsend Studio collection on the Nebraska Memories archive. The studio holds a collection of glass plate and acetate negatives of early Lincoln and early residents.

Interested in Nebraska history? Find out more about this photo in the Nebraska Memories archive!

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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Throwback Thursday: Baseball Game

The College World Series kicks off this weekend and we’re celebrating with this week’s #ThrowbackThursday!

This week’s black and white photograph is provided and owned by History Nebraska. Check out more digitized content from this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive.

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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Throwback Thursday: Chief James Red Cloud

Happy #ThrowbackThursday from Nebraska Memories!

This 8″x10″ glass plate negative is from 1934. It features Chief Red Cloud’s grandson James as he stands on steps of Nebraska’s State Capitol. He is pictured wearing beaded clothing and a full feather headdress.

This picture is part of the Townsend Studio collection. Check out materials in this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive!

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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Throwback Thursday: Bookmobile at School District 32

Happy #ThrowbackThursday from Nebraska Memories!

This week we have a 4-1/8″ x 2-1/2″ black and white photograph of the Nebraska Public Library Commission’s bookmobile from 1937.

This picture is provided and owned by the Nebraska Library Commission. The collection includes materials on the history of libraries in the state of Nebraska, mainly libraries built with Carnegie grants. This collection  also includes items showcasing the history of Nebraska’s state institutions.

Interested in Nebraska history? Find out more about this photo in the Nebraska Memories archive!

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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ThrowbackThursday: “Little Gold Star”

NLC remembers those who died in service to our country with this week’s #ThrowbackThursday.

This week we have sheet music of World War I. “Little Gold Star” was written by Will M. Maupin and J. A. Parks, who was an internationally famous Nebraska composer and publisher.

“O little gold star on your field of white!

Your hero has paid the price;

God comfort the hearts that are sad tonight

With the thought of his sacrifice.

O little gold star in your border’d red,

You gleam for a world made free,

For the choice he made, and the price he paid

For the world and its liberty!”

 

If you’d like to hear a recording of this piece, click here.

This piece is owned and provided by Polley Music Library. Just over two hundred fifty pieces of Nebraska sheet music are available through the Nebraska Memories databases, as well as concert programs, manuscripts, theatre programs, photographs, and other Nebraska memorabilia which features an element of music. Searchers can also listen to a dozen performances of selections from this music collection performed by local musicians.

Interested in Nebraska history? Find out more about this photo in the Nebraska Memories archive!

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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Throwback Thursday: Lincoln Fire Department

Check out this week’s #ThrowbackThursday from the Nebraska Memories archive.

This 8″x10″ glass plate negative shows the interior view of a Lincoln Fire Department around the early 1900s. Harnesses are suspended from the ceiling and hooked up to two wagons in order for the horses to be quickly hitched up.

This photo is courtesy of Townsend Studio. Townsend studio has been in continuous operation since it was founded in Lincoln, Nebraska, in 1888 by Timothy Townsend with his sons, Alva C. and Charles. The studio holds a collection of glass plate and acetate negatives of early Lincoln and early residents including General John J. Pershing, William Jennings Bryan and Mari Sandoz; images also include University of Nebraska and high school sports teams, state governors and Lincoln Mayors.

Interested in Nebraska history? Find out more about this photo in the Nebraska Memories archive!

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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Throwback Thursday

All smiles for this week’s #ThrowbackThursday!

This week’s photos are courtesy of The Durham Museum.
Check out this collection and many more on the Nebraska Memories archive.

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see
http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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Throwback Thursday: Graduation

Happy #ThrowbackThursday from the Nebraska Memories archive!

For some, the month of May marks an important milestone – graduation! Congratulations to all who are graduating this year and best wishes for your next adventure!

This black and white photograph shows three Union College graduates sitting on the ground with their diplomas behind them.

This photo is provided and owned by the Union College, Ella Johnson Crandall Memorial Library. The photographs selected for inclusion in Nebraska Memories include early scenes of the Union College campus and downtown College View.

Visit Nebraska Memories to search for or browse through many more historical images digitized from photographs, negatives, postcards, maps, lantern slides, books, and other materials.

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. Nebraska Memories is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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Throwback Thursday: Balloon School

Did you know that there used to be a balloon school in Nebraska?

This black and white lantern slide shows the balloon house at Fort Omaha. During World War I, Fort Omaha became the nation’s center for balloon training. Balloonists were trained in map reading and charting troop movements.

This week’s #ThrowbackThursday photo is provided and owned by the Omaha Public Library. The items from the Omaha Public Library in Nebraska Memories include early Omaha-related maps dating from 1825 to 1922, as well as over 1,100 postcards and photographs of the Omaha area.

Interested in Nebraska history? Check out the Nebraska Memories archive.

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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Throwback Thursday: Easter Egg Hunt

This Sunday is Easter and for a lot of people that means celebrating with an Easter egg hunt!

This black and white photo shows about a dozen children and several adult volunteers standing in a park near the Nebraska Children’s Home Society located in Omaha.

This photograph is from Nebraska Children’s Home Society collection on the Nebraska Memories archive.

Interested in Nebraska history? Visit the Nebraska Memories archive to search for or browse through many more historical images digitized from photographs, negatives, postcards, maps, lantern slides, books and other materials.

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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Throwback Thursday: Queen of the College World Series

Check out this week’s #ThrowbackThursday from the Nebraska Memories Archive.

Crowning of Dorothy Gredstrom as School of Nursing Seniors Queen of the College World Series

This black and white photograph shows Dorothy Gredstrom being crowned the School of Nursing Seniors Queen of the College World Series in June of 1959. From 1950 through 1991, the College World Series included CWS “Sweethearts.” Nine young women were selected to represent area service clubs, colleges, universities, etc. Omaha sports writers and sportscasters then picked one to be the CWS Queen. In this photo we see Edward F. Pettis, a man instrumental in the early development of the College World Series, crowning Dorothy with a crown of flowers. 1959 was the thirteenth year of the CWS, the tournament’s champion was Oklahoma State, coached by Toby Greene.

This photograph was provided and is owned by the Alegent Health Immanuel Medical Center. An archive of thousands of photos, papers and items has been maintained for over 120 years, carefully stored and currently housed at the Alegent Health Immanuel Medical Center campus. With the assistance of the Nebraska Library Commission, this sampling of items from the Immanuel collection has been made available through the efforts of the Fall 2008 and Fall 2010 Advanced Cataloging class at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, under the guidance and direction of the instructor, Corinne Jacox, and Karen Hein of the University of Nebraska at Omaha.

Interested in Nebraska history? Find out more about this photo in the Nebraska Memories archive!

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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Throwback Thursday: United States Liberty Bell Train

Happy #ThrowbackThursday from Nebraska Memories.

With Memorial Day just around the corner, we thought this photograph would be a good way to start the weekend. This 5 X 7, black and white photograph, is a shot of the Liberty Bell on tour through the United States. The photo depicts the bell on a railroad car flanked by two American flags with several military personnel and officials around it. It also shows the crowd of onlookers that came to see the bell. The train stopped in McCook, in July, 1909. The Liberty Bell crossed the country on a number of train journeys to be displayed at special events. This ended in the 1930s when it was determined to be too unsafe to move the bell from place to place.

This photograph was provided and is owned by the High Plains Historical Society. The High Plains Historical Society and Museum and the McCook Public Library worked in partnership to digitize photographic images from the historical society’s collection. These images document early growth of the Chicago, Burlington & Quincy Railroad in McCook, Nebraska, and the surrounding area. The collection spans a time period from the early 1880s through the 1960s.

Interested in Nebraska history? Find out more about this photo in the Nebraska Memories archive!

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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Throwback Thursday: Florence School Bus

Happy #ThrowbackThursday from Nebraska Memories.

As children all over Nebraska are finishing up the school year we thought this throwback to 1931 was perfect. School buses have changed a little in the last 87 years.

This photograph was taken in front of the old Florence Elementary School at 8516 N. 31st Street by Dorothy Edwards, a teacher at the school. The Florence School bus was owned and driven by Sam Smith, shown standing just inside the door at the front of the wagon. The boy in the center carrying a book is Sammy Smith Jr., son of the driver. The tall boy on the far right, also carrying a book, is Billy Gale. His sister, Vivian Gale (Gast) is the curly-haired girl in the back row. Mrs. Gast stated that she and her brother had red hair. Mrs. Gast also stated the bus was painted a dark green with red trim; the door was yellow. The street where this picture was taken is still unpaved. The old Florence school was closed and torn down in the mid 1960s. It was replaced by the current Florence Elementary on N. 36th Street.

Historical materials relating directly to the Omaha Public Schools have been located in various departments and school buildings. Many schools still maintain their own collections. In 2003, staff from the Educational Research Library / Library Services received a small grant to begin collecting and organizing these materials in a central location. This group of pictures and their accompanying stories is but a tiny part of the District’s over 150 year history.

Interested in Nebraska history? Find out more about this photo in the Nebraska Memories archive!

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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Throwback Thursday: John Ellis Album

Happy #ThrowbackThursday from Nebraska Memories.

We’re changing it up a little this week to showcase the wide variety of documents in the Nebraska Memories archive. While photographs are visually captivating, Nebraska Memories contains so much more than just photos. Today we have just such an example with a Mr. John Ellis’s autograph album. Containing inscriptions from the 1880’s, take a little time to read through them. We’ve only included a few in this post, but another fifteen are available for your perusal on the Nebraska Memories website. Check them out, there are some really comical and interesting inscriptions!

This 5″ x 3″ autograph album has a cover with a floral design on it. The pages of the album are filled with inscriptions addressed to “John” or “Johnnie.” Some of the inscriptions have dates from years in the 1880s.

Johny Ellis 
Some write for plesure [pleasure]
Some write for fame
But I write simply to sine my name. 
Franklin. C Compton. 
Genoa. Neb. [Nebraska] Feb. [February] 24. 1888

Friend Johnnie
If in this world of grief and pain
My friend..we never meet again
Oh.. my we meet beyond the the skies
Where friendship blooms and never dies
Your well wisher
Lennie[?] Foster
Genoe [Genoa] Neb [Nebraska] Mar [March] 4th 1881

Dec. [December]  18th 1887 
Friend John 
Remember me when far far off
Where the woodchucks die
Of whooping cough.

Yours Truly
John T. Nutcher
Reed Box Butte Co. [County]
Nebr. [Nebraska]

Interested in Nebraska history? Find out more about this photo in the Nebraska Memories archive!

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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Throwback Thursday: Sam Kills Two

#ThrowbackThursday takes a look at what’s inside the Nebraska State Historical Society collection today.

Sam Kills Two works on the Big Missouri Winter Count

Sam Kills Two, also known as Beads, works on his Winter Count, a historical calendar with painted pictographs on a stretched animal skin outside a tipi. The death of Turning Bear, killed by a passenger train in Valentine, Nebraska, in 1912, is shown in the second row just above Kill Two’s left foot by the picture of a locomotive. Kills Two is dressed in native clothing and wears two feathers in his hair. The photograph was taken at the Rosebud Reservation.

Kills Two, a Brule Sioux medicine man, provided a written interpretation of the Winter Count which is held by the Sioux Indian Museum in Rapid City, South Dakota. The Rosebud Sioux Indian Reservation is located nine miles north of Valentine, Nebraska, in South Dakota.

This photo is a part of the Nebraska State Historical Society digitized content from the John Nelson collection. John Nelson was born in Harestad, Sweden, in 1864. He came to Nebraska with his parents at the age of seventeen. His photographs tell the story of small town life in Nebraska during the first decades of the twentieth century. His subjects included local businesses, community activities, and early automobiles.

Interested in Nebraska history? Find out more about this photo in the Nebraska Memories archive!

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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Throwback Thursday: Nebraska Wesleyan University 1889, Old Main

This week’s #ThrowbackThursday takes a look at Nebraska’s higher education!

Nebraska Wesleyan University 1889

This black and white photograph, 9 3/4″ X 7 3/4″, of the north and west side of Old Main, comes from the Nebraska Wesleyan University, Cochrane-Woods Library Collection. In 2008, the archives launched an effort to digitize, catalog, and describe photographs of NWU’s campus buildings. The collection consists of mainly exterior shots of individual buildings, along with several views of the campus layout as it evolved from 1891 through the 1970s.

Old Main was the primary building on the Nebraska Wesleyan campus in 1889. Three white buildings appear on the right edge of the photograph and it appears that three men are reclining on the lawn in front of the building. “#39” is written on the front of the photograph in the bottom left corner, while “NE Wesleyan UN-1889” is written on the back.

Nebraska Wesleyan University was chartered on January 20, 1887, and is affiliated with the Methodist Church. Old Main was constructed in a Richardsonian Romanesque style beginning in 1887.

Interested in Nebraska history? Find out more about this photo in the Nebraska Memories archive!

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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Throwback Thursday: Interior of a Telephone Office

Listen up! We’ve got a new #ThrowbackThursday for you!

Located at 325 6th Avenue, the telephone exchange owned by the Nebraska Telephone Company was established in Fairmont in 1882. By 1884, 30 instruments were in use in Fairmont with the central office attending to 300 calls per day, on an average. This picture was taken in 1923 with Lawava Abrams, Mae Crooker McMahon, May Walker, Bess Storm and Alice Crooker Peters.

There was also an Independent Telephone company at this time in Fairmont and rivalry between the two companies was high. Cedar Hill Telephone Company and Scott Telephone Company were also vying for a part of the telephone interest. The Nebraska Telephone Company was bought out by Lincoln Telephone and Telegraph Company on January 22, 1912. One of the first, possibly the very first, Lincoln Telephone and Telegraph exchange was located on the south side of Jefferson Street on the second floor of the building in which the real estate office of Tom Wright was located. At the time, the Independent Telephone Company was housed in the second floor of a building across the street north of Wright’s office.

Interested in Nebraska history? Find out more about this photo in the Nebraska Memories archive!

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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Throwback Thursday: Santa Claus distributing presents to children

Happy Holidays from #ThrowbackThursday!


This week we get to highlight a man who did so much for a community they named a library after him. In our humble opinion that’s quite the honor. This week’s #ThrowbackThursday post is a 10″x8″ black and white photograph showing Charles B. Washington (left) with another man, both dressed as Santa Claus. Seated back-to-back, the men reach into black bags, distributing presents to a crowd of children. Charles B. Washington was a American civil rights activist, and journalist from Omaha. On September 14, 1986, the North Branch of the Omaha Public Library was renamed after Washington. This photo is a part of the Charles B. Washington Collection in Nebraska Memories Archive.

Interested in Nebraska history? Find out more about this photo in the Nebraska Memories archive!

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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Throwback Thursday: Frazier Cycle Company, Christmas Window Display

A #ThrowbackThursday all dressed up for the holidays!


Who doesn’t love a good window display, especially around the holidays? This week’s #ThrowbackThursday post pays homage to just that. In the winter of 1922 the Frazier Cycle Company in Lincoln, NE put together a display for it’s Christmas shoppers. Flanked by Christmas trees, Santa Claus rides a bicycle under paper streamers. Filled with bicycles, tricycles, a scooter, wagon, bicycle seats, and flashlights, that would hopefully find their way under trees come Christmas Eve. The Frazier Cycle Company was located at 231 S. 11th Street in downtown Lincoln, and according to the Lincoln City Directory, 1918, the owners of Frazier Cycle Co. were Willis A., William B., and Clifford Frazier.

Interested in Nebraska history? Find out more about this photo in the Nebraska Memories archive!

Nebraska Memories is a cooperative project to digitize Nebraska-related historical and cultural heritage materials and make them available to researchers of all ages via the Internet. The Nebraska Memories archive is brought to you by the Nebraska Library Commission. If your institution is interested in participating in Nebraska Memories, see http://nlc.nebraska.gov/nebraskamemories/participation.aspx for more information.

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